PhotoVogue, the acclaimed photography platform by Vogue, has announced its 2025 Global Open Call, themed Women by Women. This initiative invites women photographers and video makers worldwide to submit works that explore and redefine how women see and are seen. The call is open to all women, including those who identify with womanhood, aged 18 and above, with submissions accepted until June 1, 2025, at midnight CET.
The Women by Women theme aims to celebrate diverse and self-determined perspectives across all genres-from fashion to documentary, portraiture, fine art, and beyond. It emphasizes visual storytelling as a powerful force for representation, empowerment, and change. In a statement, PhotoVogue highlighted the urgency of representation, noting that the current political climate has led to increasing pushback against women's autonomy, making it more crucial than ever to consider how women see and continue to carve out spaces for their perspectives.
The open call encourages submissions that move beyond the traditional concept of the female gaze and embrace a more fluid, intersectional approach. This evolution reflects the complexities of identity, power, and representation today, acknowledging that women's ways of seeing are dynamic and shaped by lived experiences, histories, and socio-political forces.
This open call reflects the influence of women artists and thinkers who have long pushed for a more honest and complex view of femininity. Photographers such as Zanele Muholi, Shirin Neshat, and Laia Abril use the camera to explore identity, pain, memory, and resistance. Their images often challenge the way women have traditionally been represented in visual culture.
Their work also connects to ideas from theorists like bell hooks, who introduced the concept of the oppositional gaze. She described looking as a powerful act, especially for those who have been denied the right to see and be seen on their own terms. Laura Mulvey's writing on the male gaze also helps explain how mainstream media has framed women through a lens of control and objectification. The artists who inspire this open call are continuing a tradition of questioning that frame and offering new ways of seeing shaped by truth, agency, and personal experience.
Eligible submissions include photography, video, and multimedia projects exploring how women see and are seen. Each submission may consist of a series of up to 15 images (with video elements allowed) or a 60-second video snippet. AI-generated works are not eligible. The jury, composed of Vogue editors and international visual experts, will review submissions to ensure a broad and inclusive perspective. Selected artists will have the opportunity to be showcased at the next edition of the PhotoVogue Festival, published in Vogue editions worldwide, and participate in the next PhotoVogue Virtual Portfolio Reviews. Additionally, three artists will be awarded grants totaling $12,000. For more information about how to submit, click here.
